


I'm Finally Headed Home

by Vertencar



Series: Listen to the Sound of a New Tomorrow [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-12 09:49:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9066511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vertencar/pseuds/Vertencar
Summary: Moments of time during River's first summer with her parents and the Doctor.





	1. June

**Author's Note:**

> Story title comes from the music "Heading Home" by Gryffin.
> 
> Happy Christmas ! (a bit late but hey it's still Christmas somewhere, maybe.)  
> Since it's THAT time of the year I thought I could give you a story related to summer ! That would be logic, eh ?

"He should be here already!"

It was the 26th of June and today was the first wedding anniversary of Amy and Rory. They were throwing a party for this occasion with their family and a few friends. Rory was trying to make the barbecue work in their backward and Amy was pacing in the kitchen waiting for the Doctor to arrive.

River watched the scene from her stool at the table, a palm supporting her head. It’s not that she was bored but Amy has been pacing the kitchen floor for more than thirty minutes and nothing happened out of it. 

"Amy…Mum," started River, wincing at her hesitation. 

She was having a hard time adjusting to the fact that she could finally call Amy 'Mum'. It had been odd at first but they’ve gotten accustomed to it. With the fact that River now lived at her parents' house, things got better and they finally came out of the awkward phase that was present at the beginning.

"It’s only 4pm and the guests are supposed to arrive at 7pm. He’s not late, he still has three more hours to come." Her voice was muffled by her hand supporting her chin.

Amy stopped pacing and turned around to look at her daughter. "But that’s the Doctor we’re talking about! I told him to come at this hour because that way he woudn’t be late for the real time."

"Mum, I think he wouldn’t dare be late for anything related to you now." River chuckled at the memory of the time her mother chased him around her house for more than twenty minutes after he arrived two hours late. 

"Yes? Well, he is!" She shouted in despair, pointing the clock on the wall announcing thirty minutes past four. After a sigh, she resumed her pacing.

River sighed in resignation and put her face in her hands. Her mother was wonderful but why did she become so Scottish every times something was wrong for her? Surely this time it was because she was stressed for this party, it was the first real party they hosted since they got married and bought their new house. Most of Amy and Rory’s relatives were going to be here and they wanted to make a positive impression.

And of course, Amy had begged River to stay for the evening. She would have rather liked to stay hidden in her room or hijacked the TARDIS for a little ride through the stars. But, well firstly, the Doctor was going to be there too and Amy would have been angry if she said no, she didn’t want her mother’s Scottish anger directed towards her. 

Still, she didn’t like parties, people were always gathered in small groups and she was always the one left on the side. As Mels, she wasn’t the talkative type, but now maybe she could try to change this aspect of her and open up to people a little bit more.

Amy stopped pacing to sit on a stool in front if River. She began drumming her fingers on the table, waiting. 

After what felt like hours, the sound of the TARDIS echoed from the backyard as it materialised right next to Rory. The latter startled at the noise as he was so engrossed in making the barbecue work. 

Amy suddenly stood up and raced to the door, followed by River who marched more calmly towards the TARDIS, a big smile was making its way to her face. 

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door with a sheepish grin, he found himself nose-to-nose with Amy who was wearing an angry face. He gulped.

"You’re fifty minutes late." She stated.

"I know, I just…" He glanced at River behind Amy, pleading her with his eyes to help him out of this situation. The only thing he got in response was a compassionate look, River knew better than to put herself between her mother and the problems. He sighed in defeat. "I just got distracted."

"Yeah? And distracted by what?" She crossed her arms over her chest, in defiance.

The Doctor had the nerve to blush and straightened his bowtie absent-mindedly. "No…Nothing" He stammered.

After a moment of watching each other, Amy broke into a laugh and the Doctor smiled in relief. She wasn’t cross with him at least, not this time though. 

He cast a glance at Rory who was now looking at their exchange with a frown, sometimes those two could be weird.

"Permission to hug?" The Doctor asked Rory.

"Granted." He replied, rolling his eyes at their childishness.

With the permission, the Doctor enveloped Amy in his arms and she squealed at the sudden move, she hugged the Doctor back while laughing at his idiocy. For a 900-year-old he was quite childish sometimes. 

Straightening, he placed his hands on Amy shoulders. "Amelia Pond, happy first wedding anniversary." He let go of Amy to hug Rory with the same intensity. "And Rory the Roman, Mr Pond. Happy anniversary to you too. One year ago you got married and…" He stopped talking, a blush gripping up his face. "Oh my…" He made a face and run to River to place both hands on her shoulders. "One year ago you got conceived." He whispered loudly.

She pulled a face of disgust, not wanting to thinks about those things. Pulling him into her for a hug, which he gladly accepted, she chuckled, "And hello to you too, Doctor."

—

The evening was in full swing as all the guests had arrived. The Doctor, Rory and Brian were bickering over the barbecue as they still haven’t had the chance to make this thing work. With Brian giving useless instructions to his son and the Doctor injecting every now and then facts about the quantum physics of this barbecue, they were not getting far and it meant they wouldn’t eat right now.

River watched them from afar, shaking her head in amusement. Even if she had talked to some people she recognised from before when she was Mels, right now she was hiding from someone. Aunt Sharon. 

River hated her when she was Mels and it was mutual, Aunt Sharon has never liked her and she even forbidden Amy to see her for more than three month at the time. Of course, it didn’t last long because Mels always had the mania of sneaking into Amy’s room at night. It was, then, even funnier when she knew that what she was doing was not allowed anymore. She remembered, once she exchanged the black hair dye from Aunt Sharon by a bright purple. Aunt Sharon was furious but never found the culprit. 

A chuckle escaped River mouth at the memory. She made her way to the boys to see if they were making any progress with the barbecue. 

"So…" She started carefully, "Is it working yet?"

The two Williams said 'No' in a same voice, annoyed while the Doctor responded with a 'Yes'. She raised an eyebrow as Rory and Brian glared at the Doctor.

"What?" He turned to face the two men. "You’re not listening to me. It’s scientific, I’m telling you." 

Rory mumbled a 'of course' sarcastically. River put a hand on her hip, waiting for the Doctor to explain his wonderfully scientific idea.

"River, can you fetch me a corkscrew from the kitchen?" She raised her eyebrow once again at the Doctor, not knowing why in hell he needed a corkscrew to make the barbecue work. At her expression, he added, "Please." He then bopped her nose playfully and winked at her.

She huffed and went to find the tool. Once again, he was showing off. And once again, she said yes to all of his requests. She should really learn to say no to him but she couldn’t resist to see his face light up as she said yes.

River walked towards the kitchen, the sun was setting low in the sky as the night was making its way in. It was a beautiful day of summer, accompanied by a light breeze. Everything in this day was perfe-

"River?"

Except for one thing.

Aunt Sharon.

River stopped abruptly and closed her eyes at the voice, of course she would want to talk to her now. Plastering a smile on her face, she turned around to see Aunt Sharon looking at her.

"River, is it?" River nodded and looked around to find something to excuse herself. "I don’t think we have met before. I’m Sharon, Amy’s aunt." She extended her hand for River to shake, which she reluctantly did.

"I’m River Song," She started, not knowing what to say after. "And, uhm, I’m a friend of Amy and Rory."

"Oh, good, interesting." There was a awkward silence between the two and River thought it was a good time to excuses herself. "Oh, I just wanted to say that you have amazing hair."

River was a bit taken aback by her compliment, not used to hear this kind of things from Aunt Sharon. "Uhm, well, thanks." She touched her hair absent-mindedly.

"It’s funny because my great-grandmother had the exact same hair as you, a shame I didn’t inherit it." River kept a tight lipped smile. Of course, she could reply that she had, too, good hair but every time she thought about it an image of Aunt Sharon with purple hair popped into her head and she wasn’t sure if she could repress a laugh while talking about that. 

River was just praying for someone to come and rescue her from Aunt Sharon’s speech as she couldn’t maintain a straight face anymore.

Right on time, Amy made an appearance beside her and without excusing herself she took her hand and led her away in the direction of the kitchen.

"Good God, River. What were you doing talking to Aunt Sharon?" She accentuated her name with disgust. "And with that face! I thought you were gonna burst out laughing or something." 

River only shrugged and grinned to herself. "I was thinking about the purple hair phase."

Amy bursted out laughing remembering this phase very well. They arrived to the kitchen which was blissfully empty of guests. Remembering that she had to found the corkscrew, River began to search in every cupboard, in vain. 

"Mum?" Amy glanced at her in question as she was taking a white wine from another cupboard. "Do you know where the corkscrew is?"

She hummed in response and pointed to the drawer beneath the sink. River finally found the corkscrew after a long search.

As she made her way to go find the Doctor and give him the tool, she found herself nose-to-nose with him as he entered the kitchen in a haste. She squealed in surprise, stepping back to avoid the collision. He placed his hands on her waist to keep her balance.

"You scared the hell out of me!" 

"Sorry." He responded, sheepishly. He dropped his hands from her waist and came to the sink, took a sponge and wiped something on his shirt.

Amy came to see what the fuss was about, bottle in hand. She looked at the Doctor quizzically, "What are you doing, Doctor?" 

"It’s this barbecue," He began, irritated. "It’s now spitting grease from nowhere and, of course, it’s on me it has to land." 

River watched the scene with a grin, it was funny though. Amy huffed, "Okay, well I’m going to take care of it." She exited the room but not before taking the corkscrew from River’s hand.

River didn’t have time to tell her that she needed it, Amy was already far away. 

Sighing, she leaned on the worktop and watched the Doctor struggling to remove the splash of grease. A lock of hair was falling into his eyes and he had his tongue between his teeth in concentration. Taking pity on him, she took the sponge from his hands. He made a noise of protest as she placed herself in front of him. 

"Let me." She told him, rubbing the sponge against his shirt. "It’s as if you had two left hands." She teased and he huffed. 

When she felt his breath on her, she lifted her eyes to his and saw how close they were to each other. The Doctor pulled a face at her childishly and in response she splashed water from the sponge at his face.

"Oi!" He cleaned his face with his sleeve, glaring playfully at her.

"What? You had grease on your face." She continued to tease him.

After she finished cleaning his shirt, she stepped back as he murmured his thanks. They fell silent for a moment, no one dared breaking the silence surrounding them. She smiled shyly and finally he decided to say something.

"So…" He wetted his lips and she gave him her full attention. "Do you…uhm…do you…"

"Yes?" She breathed, coming closer.

His eyes dropped to her lips and he opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out. 

She watched his face in silence, waiting for him to do something. 

He finally talked, a blush reddening his cheeks. "Do you have the corkscrew?"

She let escape a nervous giggles, she was not expecting this. Thinking for a moment, she exclaimed, "Oh no! Mum took it for the wine."

He sighed heavily and groaned. 

River rounded him to go find Amy outside. "Amy!"

—

Loud applause rose as Rory and Amy blew the candles on their cake. It was much later in the evening and it was dark outside. All the guests had gathered around the kitchen table, watching the Ponds celebrating their anniversary with a cake for the occasion. 

River was standing on one side, a big smile adorning her face, and the Doctor was right behind her, with the same smile on his face.

After the applause died down, Amy and Rory shared a passionate kiss and a new round of applause rose along with whistles from some friends in the back.

The Doctor placed his hands on River’s shoulders and she turned her head to look at him with a smile. He returned the smile, squeezing her shoulders. River could feel the distinct smell of the Doctor’s cologne enveloping her. She didn’t know why but she felt her hearts fluttering in her ribcage.

Her little daydream was broken when Amy asked for attention as she would give a speech.

"So, thank you all for coming here today." She turned her head to Rory and smile. "We are very grateful that you lot could come and celebrate with us on our first wedding anniversary." Taking Rory’s hand, she continued, "This year has been wonderful and full of discoveries. We’ve lived the most wonderful things," She threw a wink at River, this was clearly intended for her. "And we’ve yet to live many more wonderful things. And for you Rory," She faced him, "My husband, you’ve given me the most wonderful thing I could ever hope for and I just wanted to say that I love you."

With tears in their eyes, they shared another kiss, full of love and hope for the future to come.

After breaking the kiss, Amy exclaimed, "So now, let’s the real party begin!"

Loud cheers echoed through the kitchen as music began to play and bottles of alcohol were opened.

—

Loud music resonated down the hall leading to the living room. It was past midnight and it was the time where people were beginning to get drunk and their dance move could not be called dance move anymore. In the living room, the furnitures has been pushed to the side to create a space to dance.

It was late in the night, during a party, that you discovered the real personality of the people. The shy ones at the beginning of the evening were madly dancing in the middle of the room, not shy anymore.

River went to fetch a glass of water for Augustus, who apparently had a bit too much to drink and therefore could not put one foot in front of the other. She hummed a familial tune playing in the background and made her way to the living room to find Augustus.

In the middle of the hallway, Brian called for her, "River!"

She turned to him, "Yes, Brian?"

"River, dear. Do you know, by any chance, where your boyfriend could be?" He asked, supporting his weight with the wall next to him.

River looked at him with a puzzled look. "My…my boyfriend?" What was he talking about? He didn’t look particularly tipsy, though.

"Yes, the Doctor." For him, it seemed obvious. "You know, the fella with the bowtie and red braces."

"I-I know who he is, Brian. But he’s not my boyfriend." She responded confused.

"Really? Well, I thought so. Anyway, do you know where he could be because he promised to tell me about his research on Mars and the people living there, which I don’t believe, and I really want to debate with him about his nonsense."

River didn’t respond, lost in thought. Why did Brian thought she and the Doctor were together, it was nonsense. Everybody could see that they were NOT together, could they? 

A hand passing before her eyes broke her from her trance. Brian was waving his hand in front of her face, a worried look on his eyes.

"River dear, are you fine? Did you drank a bit too much?"

"Yes, yes I’m…No, I haven’t drink too much." Brian looked at her pointedly, waiting for an answer to his question. "Oh yeah, yeah, he’s in the living room I think. Probably dancing with the others."

Brian thanked her and patted her shoulder, going in the direction of the living room. River stayed frozen in the middle of the hallway, with the glass of water for Augustus still in her hand. So, what happened had been weird, she told herself. But he was a bit old and quite tipsy, his mind must have been playing tricks on him.

Shaking her head, she made her way to find Augustus in the living room. When she arrived there, the first thing she saw was the Doctor talking animately with Brian. As if he knew River was looking at him, he raised his head to find her gaze on him. He smiled brightly and waved in her direction, a giggle escaped her as she waved back.

She didn’t mention her discussion with Brian to him.

—

It was nearing two in the morning and people were now dancing at a slow pace. Amy and Rory were in the middle of the living room, dancing in each other’s arms, blissfully unaware of the other people surrounding them.

River was sitting on the couch that has been pushed to the side to create more space. She watched people dancing in front of her in silence.

The Doctor flopped down next to her with a glass in hand. Startled, River glared at him, "Why do you always have to creep on people like that?" 

He shrugged, sinking into the couch. River did the same, following his movement. He handed her his glass for her to take.

"What is it?" She asked skeptically.

"They told me it was an alcohol." 

"Who's 'they'?" She took the glass from his hands, examining the content. It was clear as water but didn’t smell at all like water.

"I don’t know, one moment I was fine and then I found myself with a glass of…something in my hands." At her raised eyebrow, he added, "Don’t laugh, it happens to me all the time. Sometimes it’s a hat, which is cool, but other times it’s a bomb or a bloody glass of I don’t know what. It’s annoying, really."

"Well, we’ll jut have to taste it then." River brought the glass to her lips and took a sip from it. She pulled a face as the atrocious liquid burned down her throat, coughing a bit. "So, it’s alcohol, you can be sure of that. But I have no idea what it could be." She handed him the glass. "Here, try it."

The Doctor hesitated for a moment before taking a sip. He made a noise of disgust at the back of his throat and spitted all the content of his beverage in the glass. "It’s disgusting!"

"You’re disgusting, Doctor! You just spitted it all back into the glass."

He put the glass on the table next to the couch. "How could you even drink something like that? It’s poison!" He half shouted, still having the taste of it on his tongue.

"No it’s not, it’s just alcohol." She replied, sinking back once again on the couch. She and the Doctor’s body were touching and the Doctor did nothing to put a little distance between them.

"Well, I don’t like alcohol." He pouted.

They fell silent after that, watching together the Ponds dancing on the slow tune that was currently on. River put her head on the Doctor’s shoulder and he froze at the action. He relaxed moments after and enjoyed the feeling of River’s cheek on his shoulder and her hair gently tickling his face.

"Are you tired?" He whispered softly into her hair. She shook her head to say no. Even if she was, if fact, a bit tired, she wanted to enjoy this moment being close to the Doctor. The smell of him invaded her senses and she felt more relaxed than ever.

River closed her eyes for a minute, if she concentrated hard enough she could feel the beating of his hearts. It was a soothing melody to her ear and she felt herself drifting into a blissful sleep.

Suddenly, the Doctor jerked into movement which made River groan. "I totally forgot." He dug his hand in his breast pocket and retrieved a small stone. "It’s for you and I forgot to give it to you earlier."

River took the stone from his hand curiously. It was a totally ordinary stone which seemed to be coming from a bigger rock. She cast a glance at the Doctor, puzzled.

"It’s a stone from a planet in the Cassiopeia galaxy. You know, I told you about the particularity of this planet some time ago." He took the stone from her hand and added, "The particularity is that it glows in the dark, you should test it outside, it’s beautiful." 

A big grin made an appearance on River’s face ans she startled the Doctor as she leaned to kiss his cheek in thanks. "Oh, thank you it’s wonderful! I love it." A blush creeped up into the Doctor face, hopefully the lights were dimmed and River didn’t notice.

She placed her head back on his shoulder, observing the stone in her hands with awe. The Doctor hid a grin as he placed his head over hers.

After a moment of silence between the two, River spoke up while watching her parents dancing. She sighed, "I think I’ll need earplugs tonight."

The Doctor stopped tracing lazy lines on River’s hand and whispered, "What for?"

"Well, my parents," She started. "They seem pretty comfy in each other’s arms." At the Doctor’s interrogative hum she continued, "And it’s their wedding anniversary, so they’ll probably, you know, get excited tonight." 

The Doctor groaned in disgust, "Don’t think about that, it’s disgusting!"

"Yes, I know. But my bedroom is right next to their bedroom." She explained. "And the walls of this house are pretty ba-umpf"

The Doctor had put his hand in front of River’s mouth, "Please stop talking, I don’t want those images in my head." He dropped his hand as River giggled.

"Okay, I’m not saying anything more." Biting her lip, she added, "But, just so you know, I have had those images in my head and it’s terrifying."

The Doctor groaned. 

At the end of the party, River and the Doctor found themselves curled into each other. Soon it was time for the Doctor to go back to his TARDIS.

The few guests that were still there bid their goodbyes and River said goodbye to the Doctor with a kiss on the cheek and a gleam in her eyes. This night, she dreamt of travelling through the stars accompanied by a man in a bowtie.


	2. July

"Okay, now pull this lever towards you." The Doctor guided River’s hand on top of the lever. She pulled it as he said but the TARDIS didn’t move. 

Casting a worried glance at him, she removed her hand from the lever. "It’s not working."

"No, because that’s where the fun part comes." He bopped her nose, circling the console and beckoned her to come near him. Making her way towards him with an inquiring look, she placed herself by his side, watching his every move. "This is," he started, pointing to a big red lever, "the main thing to make the TARDIS spring into action. It’s like a hand break, you lower it to make the TARDIS move and vice versa."

She nodded, her lower lip between her teeth in concentration.

"Come here." She did as told and found herself between the console and the Doctor, her back pressing against his chest. He placed his hand on top of hers on the level. "I would hold tight if I were you."

"Wha-" She exclaimed as the Doctor lowered the lever. The TARDIS sprang to life, making its occupants sway in the middle of the console room. River, in surprise, lose her balance but the Doctor held her to him.

As the TARDIS stopped moving to signal that they arrived, River began to giggle and turned to face the Doctor. "I made her move! It’s so cool!" 

He beamed at her and bopped her nose. "I’m proud of you."

"Yes, I proud of you too, honey. But could you tell us where we are now, Doctor." He and River turned their head at the same time to see Amy with her arms crossed over her chest, a pointed look on her face.

She and Rory were standing by the door, waiting for the Doctor to explain why he had asked them to wear clothes for a hot weather. He said he was bringing them somewhere sunny but didn’t say anything else. 'A surprise vacation' he said. 

"Well, now that we’re here," He began, descending the stairs leading to the doors as River followed him. "We’re on the planet of Nereids in the galaxy of Andromeda." He took his jacket from the coat rack and put it on. "The name of the planet comes from the god Nereus. He is the son of the god of the sea and the goddess of the earth." He took in his hand the handle of the door, continuing his speech, "It’s the perfect combination to create the perfect b-"

Throwing open the door with a big smile, he halted for a second in his speech, his smile fading as he found himself nose-to-nose with a corridor.

"-each." He turned around to frown at the console. He was sure he had input the correct coordinates.

Shrugging, he went out of the TARDIS, soon followed by his three companions. The TARDIS always led him to mysterious places and this time was not an exception. 

River frowned at the location. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you did perfectly fine." The Doctor reassured her. "It’s just sometimes the TARDIS has a mind of its own."

"Hum, Doctor, sorry to tell you but we are NOT on a beach." Amy remarked while observing where they landed.

"Yes, I know, " He said absent-mindedly. He took his screwdriver from his pocket and began scanning the place. "We’re on-"

"A post office in space." Rory interrupted and the Doctor looked up from his screwdriver quizzically.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Rory pointed to the wall in front of him. "It’s written on the wall."

The Doctor cast a glance at the wall and it was indeed written the name of the ship. "TRANS-SPATIAL POST 4308," he murmured, "I know this spaceship…"

"Good," Amy exclaimed, "Now can we get back to the TARDIS and go to the real beach?" She was hugging herself to keep warm since she was wearing a thin sundress, this ship wasn’t particularly warm and welcoming.

"But I feel like I’m missing something." The Doctor wasn’t paying her any attention and she huffed. "I need to remember." He tapped his screwdriver against his forehead to remember. "But what do I need to remember?" He paced down the corridor for a moment. "River, could yo-"

"TRANS-SPATIAL POST 4308," River announced as she searched on her phone for informations. She lifted her head at his call and smiled at his surprised face, of course she knew he was going to need her help. "Look, I found something about it. It looks like an ad for it."

"Okay, so you’re really gonna do that." Amy grumbled under her breath and Rory patted her arm in compassion.

The Doctor looked over River’s phone and read, " It says 'best mail company with over 10,000 people working for it everyday'. It doesn’t say anything about it, River."

He grumbled, walking away and River frowned trying to find something else. 

Rory ears perked up at this. "Doctor, do you say there was more than ten thousand people working here everyday?"

The Doctor turned around from his spot. "Yes, but that’s not impor-" He stopped talking, processing what he just said. His eyes went wide and he walked towards his companions. 

"Now, he gets it." Rory grinned at his own discovery.

"Gets what?" River asked, watching the two men puzzled.

Turning to River, the Doctor spoke up, "This ship, there are thousands of people working for it." He tried to make her understand but she kept frowning at him.

"But?" It’s Amy who spoke up, intrigued.

"But it’s empty."

Silence fell between the four people inside of the ship. This ship that was already unwelcoming became in an instant a spooky place to stay. A chill ran through them, to afraid to talk.

It’s Amy who broke the silence first. "I can’t!" She marched towards the TARDIS. "You promised us a beach and not a spooky spaceship drifting into space with a mystery and no one aboard. Go explore it if you want but I’ll stay in the TARDIS."

She opened the TARDIS door and it instantly slammed back shut in her face. Amy stayed gobsmacked at the front door shut in front of her. She turned around to find the same expression on everyone else’s face.

The Doctor raced to the doors of his ship, trying to open them, in vain. "Come on! Don’t do that!" He sighed in defeat, turning around. "I think she wants to tell us something, the only thing we can do is explore this ship and find what is wrong with it."

He pushed himself away from the TARDIS’ door and straightened his bowtie. A new adventure awaited them.

"So…" Rory began, "What do we know about this ship?"

The Doctor scanned the corridor once again and it bleeped in response. "It’s a big ship, we're actually in the right wing. The controls room is…" He turned on himself to find the right direction. "This way." He said, pointing in front of him. 

They moved towards the direction he was pointing to and found themselves in front of two intersections. 

"So what do we do now?" Amy asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hum…" The Doctor thought for a moment. "We could part ways and then we’ll see what’s on both sides."

Amy pondered the choice he offered her. "Okay, Rory come with me." She took Rory’s arms. "River, keep your phone on you and we’ll keep you updated of what we find."

"Okay, mum." River replied. 

Amy winked at her and, with Rory, they made their way into the corridor on one side.

River and the Doctor took the other corridor, venturing through it with apprehension.

They walked down the corridors in silence. The Doctor scanned the walls to have more informations about this ship but nothing was relevant.

After some minutes, River finally spoke up, "How comes this ship is empty? I don’t understand." 

The Doctor shrugged, "Maybe they all decided to go on vacation at the same time." He cast a glance at her to find her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Do you really think ten thousand people decided, at the same time, that a little holiday would be good for them?"

"No, that’s what I thought." He shook his head, "But I liked this idea better."

River frowned at him, "What do you mean?" 

He sighed, "Well, if the staff of this ship didn’t went away on their own free will then something or someone made them." A worried look passed over River’s face. "But don’t worry, we’re it to stop whatever is happening."

"Well, that’s not reassuring me." She admitted, walking closer to the Doctor.

They walked for five more minutes in the corridors, close to each other, when they finally arrived in front of a door that was closed. The Doctor scanned the door, its reading showed that they had arrived to the main control room of the ship. There was a button on the wall next to the door and, without waiting, the Doctor pushed it.

"Doctor!" River uttered. The door opened halfway before stopping. "You can’t just go and push buttons whenever you see one."

"Of course I can." He responded playfully. "Come on, help me open this door." He added, pushing the door with his own weight.

River rolled her eyes and pushed the door with all her might. Together, they managed to open the door and squeezed through it, arriving into the control room.

The control room was like any other control room except maybe that everything was upside down. Chairs were thrown off to the side and tables were toppled over with papers everywhere on the floor. Some monitors on one side of the room were cracked and smashed.

"What the hell happened here?" River whispered to herself. She made her way to the monitors but the only one still working was displaying darkness as the screen crackled. 

The Doctor was looking at some papers lying on the ground. "This ship is transporting big packages." He told River who was listening from her position at the monitors.

"And, so what? Do you think that, one day, they took a package and inside there was, hum…something and this thing is the cause of all of this?" She waved her hands around the room to emphasise her point.

"Possibly, yes. And then they realised their mistake and abandoned this ship." He nodded, getting up with the paper in his hand, and walked to her. "That would explain some things." He looked at the monitors as she read what was written on the paper. "This monitor seems to be working." He pointed to the monitor in question.

River turned around nodding, "Yes, but it’s only displaying bla-" Her eyes went wide, "No wait, it was black a minute ago and now it’s back to normal." 

The Doctor frowned and scanned the monitor, nothing appeared to be out of normal. "Are you sure it was black?"

"I’m absolutely sure, I promise you it was black." She began panicking, because this was frankly terrifying.

"Okay, don’t worry." He rubbed a hand on her shoulder. "A least, if that thing was in that room it means that’s it’s not there, right?"

"Doctor, you’re not helping. There is a thing that made a whole crew shit out their pants and ran away and this thing is near us, in the same wing."

The Doctor pressed his lips together, he didn’t know what to do. "Okay, we have to get out of here and go find your parents." He took her hand and led her out of the room. They passed the door of the control room and found themselves in the corridor they took earlier.

The walked at a rapid pace this time and the more they walked down the corridors the harder it was to find the way they went in. Holding each other’s hand, they tried to find a way out of this maze that was this ship. 

Finally, they entered a part of the ship they hadn’t explored before. This part of the ship was suddenly colder than the rest of the ship.

River stopped walking. "We haven’t been there before." She clenched her teeth as the cold made its way through her clothes, which were more appropriate for summer temperatures.

The Doctor stopped too and looked around him, rubbing his hands together as he felt the cold. "Yeah…The temperature dropped too." He cast a glance at River to see her shivering and rubbing her hands down her arms. "Oh River." He closed the distance between them and enveloped her in his arms, rubbing her arms vigorously.

"I-I’m f-fine." She uttered through trembling teeth.

"River, you’re in a short and a tank top, of course you’re not fine. I’m fully dressed and I’m cold so don’t lie to me." He continued rubbing her arms as she looked up at him. "And your lips are blue."

She nodded, admitting that she was, in fact, freezing on the spot.

The Doctor removed his jacket. "Here, take this." He put it around her shoulders and she slipped into it, feeling the heat coming back instantly.

"What about you?" She uttered, hugging herself into his jacket which was a bit too big for her.

"I’ll be fine." He waved his hand at her, not concerned by his own comfort.

They ventured through the undiscovered corridor, steam forming at their every breath. They had been walking for less than two minutes when they heard what sounded like a groan coming from the corridor ahead of them. Stopping abruptly in their walk, they looked at each other with wide eyes.

And then the lights went out.

—

"What are we supposed to find anyway?" Amy whined as she walked side by side with Rory down the corridor.

"Well, I don’t know. Clues?" He responded, eying the corridor for said clues.

They had been walking down those corridors for more than ten minutes and they found nothing interesting. It’s as if the good stuff never happened to them and it was always the Doctor who found the interesting clues. 

"We don’t even don’t where we’re going. All those corridors are the same to me." She huffed in despair.

"Hopefully we’ll find something interesting on the way," Rory began, "And I wonder what this thing could be, if it’s a thing, we don’t even know what it is."

Rory continued talking but Amy had stopped listening as she watched the walls around her, everything looked the same. She wondered how they would manage to get back to the TARDIS with those corridors going in and out everywhere. It was a terrifying maze and the more time they spent into it the more terrifying it became. The Doctor better plan a trip to a beach after that because she has been dreaming of it for a long time.

"Amy look," Rory told Amy and she looked in front of her to she what looked like a door, a big door. "I think we just found something interesting." His joyful tone showed his happiness to have finally found something. He shouldn’t be happy to find clues for a possible beast running down the ship.

"What do you think is behind this door?" Amy asked her husband.

"I don’t know, let’s find out." He went closer to the door and pushed a button on the wall which, hopefully, would open this door.

After the wheeling sound of mechanics being activated, the door opened and a big open space made its way before their eyes.

"What is that?" Asked Amy. She entered the room carefully.

"I think it’s some sort of storage room." He entered too and looked at her. "You know, since this ship is a sort of space post office there must be storage rooms and everything."

"Well, this place certainly looks mess, though." She said, observing the toppled down packages and the ones that were messily teared open.

Rory hummed in response and looked around the room. "Look I think there are teleporters here." 

Amy came to see the teleporters he was pointing at. They all seemed to be in a pretty good shape apart from one which was totally broken with wires coming out of the platform.

"Rory, I think I know what happened here." He came closer with a frown on his face. "I think something or someone teleported in this ship with this teleporter." She pointed to the one who was broken. "And this thing destroyed everything in its path, the crew got scared of it and ran away, abandoning this ship with the…beast inside of it."

Rory looked at her in awe, she was wonderfully clever. Howling her up to him, he kissed her roughly on the mouth as a little squeak escaped her. After releasing her he said, "I find you very sexy when you’re clever."

She raised a eyebrow at her husband. "Well, I love the attention," she pecked him on the mouth, "but now that we have the clues we have to do something about it."

Rory rolled his eyes and went to walk around the room. "Okay, well, we have to tell the Doctor about our discovery and then we’ll come and find them."

Amy nodded and took her phone out, tapping a quick message to River. She hit send and put her phone back into her pocket. "Okay then, let’s go out of here and find the children."

Rory laughed and took the arm she was offering him. Together they went out of the room and into the corridors.

—

River took a small intake of breath. Everything around them was plunged into darkness as a low grunt could be heard a few feet ahead of them. She felt the Doctor’s hand lacing through hers and she squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"We have to move." The Doctor whispered through clenched teeth. 

She nodded but remembered they couldn’t see each other and made a small sound of agreement.

Together, they moved slowly to a side of the corridor where they knew was an alcove. The beast was coming closer to them as they heard the sound of its paws on the metal floor beneath their feet. It entered the corridor they were in at a slow pace.

The Doctor pressed himself against River as she was herself pressed against the wall, that way they appeared invisible to the beast eyes. Enveloping her in his arms, the Doctor placed his head in the crook of her neck. She had her arms around him and he could feel that she was trembling with fear.

The beast walked past them in the corridor while grumbling and grunting. The Doctor payed close attention to what he was saying and he identified some of his words. As they felt the beast walking away, River sighed in relief and the Doctor squeezed her shoulder.

Suddenly, River’s phone buzzed indicating a new message. The beast halted in his walk and went back to the place they were hiding. A whimper escaped River’s lips as they head the beast’s grunts getting closer to them once again.

This time, River’s whole body was shaking as the beast approached them. She closed her eyes as tears escaped them. She could feel the Doctor’s body shaking too as she felt his lips on her hair line. The fear inside her was controlling her every move and she felt the tension inside her getting stronger and stronger. Her breathing was getting more and more uneven and the Doctor could feel it.

"Stop breathing." The Doctor uttered in her ear. 

She did as told and held her breath, the beast was next to them now. It sniffled them and grunted. 

After finding nothing in there, the beast retreated and continued his path down the corridor. Once the beast was out of sigh, River took a heavy breath, tear spilling down her cheeks. The Doctor did the same, leaning on the wall as he took new puff of air. 

Suddenly, the lights came back on, illuminating the long corridor. River squinted her eyes at the sudden light. Her eyes were red from the tears and she hugged herself in the Doctor’s jacket. She felt insecure all of a sudden.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked, taking her in his arms and rubbing her back to reassure her.

She nodded, "Yes," She looked him in the eyes. "I don’t know what happened, it has never happened to me before. I lose all control of my own body and the only thing that remained was-"

"Fear." He finished for her.

"Yes." She responded. The Doctor pressed his lips together, he felt this sensation too. "But why?"

"I don’t know." He replied with honesty. "But I know what this creature is, and it’s not a beast." He passed his thumbs under her eyes to remove the tears and kissed her forehead.

"What is it?" She asked as he looked around the corridor to see if it was safe to go. He began walking down the corridor and River had no choice but to follow him. Catching up with his rapid pace, she took his hand.

"A lost little boy." He answered after a moment, not giving any other explanation.

"Wha-"

"Come on, we have to find your parents. Check your phone."

River looked at him with a bemused look for a moment before remembering that she had received a text. She took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. "It’s from mum, they found a storage room with teleporters." She read what was written, "She says they think the beast comes from a teleporter." 

The Doctor nodded, "That would make sense." He stopped walking abruptly and River crashed into him, she groaned and he mouthed a 'sorry'. "The storage room you say?" At her nod, he searched his screwdriver and remembered it was in his jacket, which was on River. Blushing, he faced River and dug his hand into the breast pocket of his jacket, retrieving his sonic. He threw an small smile at her as she looked at him surprised. "So…" He scanned the corridor, "The Ponds are over there." He explained, pointing ahead of him.

Together they walked towards the direction the screwdriver was pointing at. Soon, they heard the voices of Amy and Rory resonating down the corridors and walked faster in their direction.

"Mum!" River called for Amy and at her sigh Amy grinned broadly.

"Where were you? We’ve been searching for you everywhere." Amy said, hugging her daughter briefly.

"It’s this ship, it’s a real maze." River responded.

"So…" The Doctor interrupted their conversation. "Ponds, you were in the storage room, right?" They nodded and he clasped his hands together. "Well then, let’s get back there."

He began walking in the direction he saw the Ponds come but Amy stopped him, taking his arm. "Doctor, there is nothing in there, everything is destroyed."

"Hum…" He waved his screwdriver in front of their face, "…No."

Amy huffed in exasperation but followed him nevertheless. River and Rory followed behind them.

"Doctor," Amy sighed, "Are you going to tell us what or who this beast is?"

The Doctor stopped in the middle of the corridor, his companions stopping after him. "First of all, this is not a beast." He began, toying with his screwdriver. "His species is cousin with the Minotaurs, sort of." He frowned, thinking of a moment and shook his head. "His species is known for having powers, that’s why he is not a Minotaur."

"But that doesn’t explain why he was here? And what are his powers then?" Rory interrupted.

"Well, if you let me explain." The Doctor shot a pointed look at Rory who held up his hands in the air. "Well, every one of them have different powers but the one in the ship here has, I think, the power to control elements, at least things not touchable."

"What do you mean?" It’s River who spoke up, a frown on her face.

He turned to her, "I mean things like the lights, the temperature and…and emotions too, I think." He watched River’s face as she understood what he meant, they had experienced all of these factors.

"I’m sensing a but there." Amy said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes, the thing is that this…creature, it’s a child." He turned around to watch the empty corridor ahead of him. "He’s a child and he’s scared and alone." Looking at his companions, he continued, "My guess is that he took the teleporter from his planet unintentionally and arrived in this spaceship, he didn’t understand what happened and panicked. Being a child, he didn’t control his powers and sort of transmitted his fear to the whole crew of this ship. That’s why the ship is empty now, because every time he approaches someone this person is frightened and run. The whole crew ran away because they were frightened."

"So, you tell me that thousands of people ran away because they were scared. And there was not one person strong enough to stop him." She shook her head, not convinced.

"Mum, it’s true." Amy turned to River with a frown. "You can’t fight it." Her voice wavered.

"Then, let’s save this child!" Rory exclaimed, taking the lead in the direction of the storage room. Amy caught up with him and walked by his side.

The Doctor peered at River through his fringe and held up his hand for her to take. With a small smile, she took his hand and together they walked towards the storage room.

The atmosphere was back to normal in the corridor, the temperature has returned to normal. That meant the creature was not in the area.

They arrived to the storage room and the Doctor examined the teleporters, he could easily fix one to make it work again. He tingled with some wires and with the help of his screwdriver, the teleporter repaired.

He assembled some of the wires to create and bigger one and hooked it to his screwdriver. A buzzing sound echoed in the room and they all winced at the sound, the Doctor tinkered the frequencies on his screwdriver and suddenly they heard the creature, his grunts and groans echoing through the room.

At the alarmed face on his companions, he exclaimed. "Don’t worry, I just connected my sonic to where the creature was. That’s why we can hear him, and he can hear us." He placed himself in the middle of the room and beckoned the others near him. "It works as a microphone, we have to beckon him in this room to teleport him back to his planet." 

He gave the microphone to River and she frowned not understanding why he did that.

"Do it, guide him in here, guide him home. I know you can." She stayed speechless in front of the microphone as he encouraged her to speak. "River, I think you know more than we do what he’s feeling right now." He smiled at her and she nodded. 

The creature groaned. "Do you understand what he is saying?" River asked the Doctor and he nodded.

"Yes, I’m going to translate to you what he’s saying."

"What is he saying now?" Amy asked behind them, watching the scene playing in front of her eyes.

The Doctor sighed, "Nothing, right now he is…whimpering." He looked back at River, "Come on, ask him his name."

River hesitated for a second and then began talking through the microphone. "Hey, little boy." She cast a worried glance at the Doctor and he nodded at her to continue. "We’re here to help you get you home." The grunts of the creature stopped, he was listening. "Care to tell me your name?" A groan echoed in the room.

"Karkan." The Doctor responded, translating.

"Good, Karkan. I know you’re scared because you’ve lost your mummy and your family but don’t worry we’re here to help you." 

Karkan groaned in response, "How? I want my mummy."

"And you will find your mummy, just follow my voice."

A grunt. "No, I’m scared."

"You have nothing to be scared of." River reassured him. "You’re safe with us and I know you are a big boy."

"Okay…" There was a shuffling movement as Karkan began moving in the direction of her voice. "I am alone, I am alone." The Doctor translated, his voice wavering.

"You are not alone, Karkan." She casted a glance at her parents behind her. "Those corridors might be empty and cold but you will never be alone. I’m sure that when you’ll be back to your planet, your mummy and daddy with be very happy to see you. And maybe they’ll cry and maybe they’ll be angry at themselves for leaving you alone for so long, but be sure that they will always love you. And you’ll love them even more." River closed her eyes an instant.

The room got colder as they felt Karkan approaching the room. "And in this cold and empty place you are my guiding light."

"Yes, Karkan." She chuckled. "If you want me to be."

"Yes, I would like that." 

At that moment, Karkan entered the room. River was surprised to see the creature that frightened her before. She realised that this time the lights stayed on and she felt peace in her heart, he wasn’t scared anymore. His height and figure should scare them but they felt at peace with him, he was still projecting his feelings to them.

Karkan placed himself on the teleporter, ready to go back to his planet. He groaned something but the Doctor didn’t translate right away, taken aback by what he just said.

He finally opened his mouth to speak. "Do you want him to be your guiding light?" He said in a whisper, looking straight into River’s eyes.

River looked at the Doctor, speechless, not knowing what to say. She looked back at Karkan and a smile made its way to her face. She had her answer.

Seconds after, Rory activated the teleporter and Karkan dissolved in millions of particles, he went back to his family.

"He’s happy now." Amy spoke up and River turned around to see Amy already looking at her.

She smiled broadly, "Yes, he is." She gave the sonic to the Doctor who was still gazing at her. She squeezed his hand when he took the sonic. "So, who’s for a trip to the beach?"

And with that they made their way to the TARDIS which was still parked on the same spot as before. The walk through the corridors was silent. Of course River would need to have a discussion with her parents. But not today, today was a wonderful day, full of discoveries and achievements.

They arrived at the TARDIS and unsurprisingly the doors opened without much resistance, their duty was done. Upon their arrival, the TARDIS welcomed them with a warm ambiance and the noise of the engines purring beneath their feet.

The Doctor went to the console and input the coordinates for the beach he had promised his companions earlier. River placed the Doctor’s jacket on the coat rack and ran to the console to help the Doctor. 

He was about to lower the red lever when River swatted his hand away, he yelped and glared at her playfully. She winked and lowered the red lever herself, the TARDIS sprung into life as they left the spaceship behind them.

As the TARDIS signalled their arrival, Amy raced to the door, opening them and was meet by a colourful landscape with a sea offering different shades of blue and accompanied by the purest of sand.

She squeaked and ran outside, welcoming the warm weather on her skin. Rory soon followed her and together they admired this beautiful beach.

The Doctor walked towards the doors, a smile on his face as he watched his friends having fun in the sand. River descended the stairs leading to the doors smiling too, because this time she manage to make the TARDIS land at the right place.

As River passed by the Doctor to go outside, he caught her arm. "River, wait." She faced him and gave him a quizzical look. He pulled her closer until they were face to face. "I just want to know," he started, stroking her cheek with his thumb, "You never answered the question Karkan asked you." She nodded slowly. "Am I your guiding light?"

River smiled softly and straightened his bowtie. "I think you are, yes." She said confidently.

He chuckled a bit and nodded, still smiling. River leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. 

"Come on now." She took his hands and guided him outside to enjoy the warm weather and the beach.

The Doctor let himself be guided out of the TARDIS, the doors closing behind them.


	3. August

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year!  
> Have you ever wanted a fic with the Doctor at IKEA? Well, now you will. ;)  
> Feel free to leave a comment to help me improve my works.  
> Enjoy!

The weather was particularly good for Leadworth this summer. The sun was shining up in the sky and birds were singing on the trees. After an awful weather for July the heat of August was blissfully welcomed.

This was a perfect day for sunbathing and that’s exactly what Amy and River decided to do. Having taken two lawn chairs and placed them in front of the sun, the mother and daughter were relaxing with glasses of limonade.

"You know, I think I’ve never seen such a warm day in Leadworth in my whole life." Amy exclaimed, peering at River through her sunglasses.

River hummed in agreement. It was true that a summer this hot wasn’t a common thing in England, especially in Leadworth. But she gladly appreciated the warm weather of an English summer.

Since June a lot of things had changed in River's life. First of all, she found in her childhood best friends wonderful parents and coming with that she met numerous people, including the Doctor. It was a wonderful life she had, but now that she was settled in she felt that something was missing.

During her time with her parents and the Doctor, she realised all the beauty that the universe was offering her and all the things yet to discover. She longed to discover new places. And now that she was free to do whatever she wanted, she felt the need to do something related to that. She has been thinking about it for days and now was the time to voice her thoughts to her mother.

"Mum?" Amy turned her head to her, listening. "Well, I’ve been thinking…" She wrung her hands, not knowing how to begin. 

"What is it, Melody?" Amy asked with concern, removing her sunglasses to see River better.

"Nothing bad." She replied in a haste, she didn’t mean to scare her. A small chuckle escaped her. "It’s just…" She sighed. "I would like to go back to school, well, go to university actually." At Amy puzzled look, she retreated. "You know what, forget what I said, it was silly." 

Amy stopped her with a hand on her arm. "No, River. That’s not silly at all." River looked at her with a worried gaze. "It’s a really good idea actually."

"You think?"

"Yes, of course. It’s just that when you were Mels you weren’t much of the studying kind. It surprised me, that’s all." Amy sat upright in her chair, facing River.

Shrugging, River responded. "Well, I don’t know. I think the new me likes studying." She chuckled.

Of course, Amy knew that already. She knew what River would become one day but for the moment River was young and without experience. Amy understood that she would need to guide her daughter towards the thing she would become. It was her duty as a mother.

"Well, you know, I’m sure if we ask the Doctor he could find you a good university." River nodded in agreement. "So, what do you want to study then? Something in particular?" Of course, she knew what her daughter was going to say, but she preferred to play the part.

"Yes, I’d love to study archeology." She gazed at Amy for her approval and saw her smiling. "Because I’ve always loved history and I love it even more now that I’ve seen the beauty of the universe, thanks to the Doctor. And I have yet to discover many more things."

"Well then, I think it’s a wonderful idea."

River nodded, glad that her mother approved. "But that also means that I will live at the university for some time. On one hand I’m exited to live on my own but on the other hand that means I won’t be seeing you and Dad as often."

"Don’t worry, baby." Amy engulfed her in a hug. "We both know you won’t be staying at the house doing nothing all your life. You’re all grown up and you have your own life now, it wouldn’t be fair to keep you away from your dreams."

"Thank you, mum." River whispered in Amy’s arms.

"But," Amy let go of River. "You have to promise me you’ll visit us, every holidays, every weekend even." She said playfully and River laughed.

"I promise you."

"Well, that’s settle then." Amy grinned at River. "My daughter is going to university."

—

"Luna!" The Doctor exclaimed as they walked down the corridor leading to River’s dorm room. 

After deciding that River would go to university, Amy contacted the Doctor, asking him what was the better choice for River.

It was a week or so after River talked to Amy about her desire to go to uni. The Doctor had found the perfect university for what River wanted to do.

So, here they were, walking down the hallways and discovering every part of Luna. They were currently heading to River’s dorm, to find where she would live her days.

The Doctor and River were leading the path as Amy and Rory followed close behind them. Making grand gestures to explain the particularity of Luna, the Doctor put an arm around River’s shoulders, completely at ease.

"It’s the best university of the 51st century." Of course, the Doctor had to choose a university nearly thirty centuries after her time. But he said she would get accustomed to all the new technologies in no time. It was true that it was a bit exciting to River. "Besides, it’s on the moon so it has to be cool."

River hummed in agreement, this was certainly new to her. She watched the hustle and bustle of people around her. There were a lot of people from species she didn’t know but she recognised some from her travels with the Doctor.

The Doctor continued talking animately. "Luna is by far the best university for archeology, it has the best students and the best professors." He winked at her and she smiled in response.

Soon they arrived in front of her room and went into it. They were surprised to find that her dorm room looked much like a tiny flat, it had a hallway which lead to a bathroom, a kitchen and two other doors at the end of it. Even if it was a bit small, for River it was all she'd always wanted. A flat to herself.

Down the hall, a door opened and out went a young girl who appeared to be in her twenties. At the sight of them, she smiled and walked to them.

"Hi!" She shook the hand of everyone. "I’m Shari and you must be River, right?" She nodded and Shari engulfed her in a hug. A bit taken aback, River patted her back awkwardly. "We’re going to be roommate, how exciting!" And River couldn’t help but smile, because this girl seemed so happy to meet her. She never met someone this happy just by seeing her. 

"Yes, we are." She simply responded and cast a glance at her parents and the Doctor who were already smiling back at her.

"So, Shari, where are you from?" The Doctor asked her new roommate. 

River took the time to watch Shari more closely. She was quite tall and had long brown hair braided in two plaits, her eyes were the colour of honey and she had thin lips. River concluded that Shari was human but she had something else in her that made her doubt her full human genes. 

"Well, Earth actually, 51st century. But my mother is a hybrid mermaid so I’m not fully human." She smiled.

So, that explained why Shari was so pretty, River thought. Although, she had weird looking clothes, but that could be because she was from the 51st century and at this time the fashion had evolved.

"Sorry but I’ll have to excuse myself." She said, going for the front door. "We have all the furnitures to put up and I think my dad got lost in the university." She laughed while going out.

After Shari went out, River turned to her parents with a smile. "I like her."

Her mother replied, "Me too." She took her arm and lead her to her room. "Come on, let’s see your bedroom."

They entered the room and found it quite bare of any furnitures. There was only a mattress on the floor and a desk in one corner of the room.

"Well, it’s quite…empty." River stated.

"Yes, it’s because the students here stay at least two years." The Doctor began. "So, they decided to let the students choose to do whatever they want with the room. Isn’t that cool? You’ve got to create your own room."

"Yes." River grinned. The room was spacious and she could already imagine herself living here with her own bed, her own desk, her own TV and everything she wanted. She chuckled, "But we’ll need to pay a visit to IKEA first."

—

"Look at that, this place is huge!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Well, it’s IKEA." Sighed River while dragging the Doctor by the hand through the aisles. 

After making a list of what they needed, the Doctor and River decided to take the TARDIS and go to IKEA. River didn’t think the Doctor would be like a child during this trip. He was amazed by anything and everything. Even though it was him who brought her there, it’s as if he was the happiest getting there. 

That was a new side of the Doctor that River discovered, the child inside him was definitely awake right now.

"Doctor, we have to focus on the things we need to buy." She announced, sighing.

"But River, look there are free pencils." He replied, watching the pencils dispenser. River had to drag him away from it. 

With a sign, she took a pencil and a paper and shoved them in the Doctor’s hands. "Write the references."

They walked for some minutes in silence, watching the furnitures they needed.

After some time, the Doctor placed his arm around River’s shoulders. "River?"

Sighing already in her head, River turned her head to show him she was listening. "Yes, Doctor."

"Do you know where those arrows on the floor lead to?" He asked with a frown.

"The exit." She stated. He was annoying and she just wanted to get on with it.

"Oh." Good, now he was pouting as well.

They wandered into the store for quite some time, choosing items and furnitures for River’s dorm.

"River, what do you think they keep trying to put Swedish names on every furnitures even if nobody understand them and can’t pronounce them?" The Doctor asked some time later.

"I don’t know." She replied, shrugging. "Maybe they want to keep a part of Sweden in the store." She took his arm and lead him away. "Come on, we have to find pillows."

They arrived in the bedroom section where pillows and bed sheets were displayed. River searched for the best pillows for her bed.

"How can I know if they’re good pillows anyway." She talked to herself.

Suddenly, a big pillow smacked her face and she let out a shriek in surprise. She looked at the Doctor and found him with a sheepish grin. Oh, he was so dead.

"Did you just throw a pillow to my face?" She asked glaring at him through the locks of hair that escaped her updo.

The grin slipped from his face as he saw her glare. "Well, it was just for you to test the…bounciness of it. I’m sor-"

A pillow smacked him right in the face and he stayed stunned, gawping in surprise. River had a smirk on her face. "Is it bouncy?"

He took the pillow in his hand and held it protectively to him. "Well, I don’t know. I might need to test it out again." And he threw the pillow at River who caught it just in time.

A grin made it’s way to River’s face. "Pillow fight." She uttered and the Doctor squeaked, taking another pillow and held it to his face.

People around them were whispering and looking weirdly at the two people engaged in a pillow fight, but the two Time Lords didn’t care in the slightest the attention they got by being childish.

Seeing at the corner of his eye a safety officer , the Doctor stopped everything and held River to him. "So, are those pillows great?" He said quickly.

"Very." River responded laughing and leaned her head on his chest.

"Good, we’re taking them." He then grabbed her hand and the pillows and led them through the crowd that had gathered around them. Together they ran out of the way, still laughing.

—

The next day, the Ponds family was reunited in River’s dorm room as they were putting up furnitures. After River and Doctor returned from IKEA, they had decided to call it a day and went home. 

But today was going to be long, they had to put up every furnitures in only one day for the dorm to be ready and they already had a lot of work to do.

Amy and Rory were installing a wardrobe in a corner of the room, Amy was yelling instructions at Rory and the poor man was desperately trying to keep up.

On the other side of the room, River and the Doctor were trying to put up a bookshelf, well the key word was trying. The Doctor was sitting on the floor with multiple sheets with the instructions surrounding him.

"River, I don’t understand a thing." He sighed in defeat and looked at River who was currently trying to make a plank get into the good slot.

She looked at him through locks of hair falling from her bun, her hands still holding the plank in the air. "Well, use your brain!" She said irritated.

Holding up his hands in the air, the Doctor replied, "But it has no sense at all!"

Sighing, River let go of the plank and flopped down beside him to read the instructions. She took the sheet in her hand, trying to find what was wrong with it. Closing her eyes in exasperation, she turned the sheet upside down and gave it back to the Doctor. "There you go."

A blush rose to the Doctor’s cheeks at his idiocy. River stood up from her position and resumed holding the plank, waiting for him to give the instructions. As nothing came out, she looked pointedly at him. 

Finally, he spoke. "You know what, it’s because you’re distracting me." He stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

River raised an eyebrow. "Really? How so?"

The Doctor shook his head. "It’s because of your dungaree."

"My dungaree?" Exclaimed River, looking at her outfit which seemed totally normal to her. 

"Yes, I don’t understand it." He pointed at her outfit with a finger. "It’s a dungaree but it’s a short!" River shot him a puzzled look, sometimes he could be really strange. 

"I really don’t see your point there." She replied. Why was he pointing out her fashion sense when he was a man wearing a bowtie and braces?

He waved his hands in the air, trying to explain his point. "Well, a dungaree is made to cover yourself when you're working. But…but here it shows everything." He looked at her bare thighs to prove is point.

So that was what distracted him. River smirked, "Are you telling me you’re distracted by my bare skin?"

"Wha-…No, no. It’s…" He stammered, his cheeks reddening by the minute. Crossing his arms over his chest, he pouted. "Shut up."

"Not a chance." River smirked, returning to her work.

Amy, having watched the whole scene, laughed and shook her head from her place in the corner of the room. Those two were really blind sometimes.

—

"You’re not doing it right!" River exclaimed. The Doctor and her were now painting a nightstand and the Doctor was doing an awful job at it.

"I’m doing it perfectly fine." He retorted, pointing his brush full of paint at her face.

"No, you’re not. You have to do up and down strokes." She showed him the movement with her own brush. "If you keep doing this, it will be uneven."

He shrugged, "Who cares, I’m painting the back. Nobody will see it."

"Well, I care!" She shouted, pointing her brush at him and nearly painting his face in the process. 

The Doctor gawped at her and did the same thing, trying to touch her face with his brush. Amy looked at the two from afar. They were now engaged in a game that consisted of painting each other’s face.

"Well," Amy started, "Me and Rory are going to find something to eat." River hummed absent-mindedly, still fighting with the Doctor. She went to the door, accompanied by Rory. Turning around, she addressed a last comment to them, "Paint the bloody thing, not each other!"

When they heard the door closing, they both startled and stopped their bickering. They were both holding their brushes in self defence in front of them and began laughing at their childishness.

"Truce." The Doctor said and River nodded in agreement. 

They resumed painting and for a moment nothing happened. But then the Doctor got bored and an idea formed in his head. He watched River for a moment as she painted the nightstand with her tongue between her teeth.

With the tip of his brush, he suddenly poked River in the rib. At the sudden movement, River jerked away with a shriek. The Doctor laughed heartily at her reaction and suddenly found himself with a long trace of paint on his cheek.

His mouth agape, he let go of his brush. Touching his cheek to see fresh paint, he glared at River who seemed to enjoy very much his reaction. With a smirk, he poked her again in the stomach.

Jerking away, she exclaimed, "No stop, I’m ticklish!"

At the new information, the Doctor stopped. "Are you?" He said playfully while a smirk was making its way onto his face.

River said nothing, pressing her lips together. Suddenly, the Doctor threw himself over the nightstand between them and tickled her stomach. River screamed and tried to get out of his grasp as a wave of laugher came out of her. Playfully pushing him away, she scrambled back to her feet and ran around the room to escape his ticklish hands.

He ran after her, all the while laughing as a mad man. 

After some minutes of running after each other, the Doctor stopped pursuing her to regain his breath. He flopped onto the mattress on the floor and lay down flat on it. Catching his breath, he looked at River who was hiding in a corner of the room and laughed even more.

"Truce?" He asked her.

"A real truce?" She asked back, watching him.

He nodded and she let down her guard. After a moment, she came to lay beside him on the mattress.

The Doctor turned his head in her direction and watched her as she looked at the ceiling. The freckles on her cheeks were smudged with spots of paint. Some curls were escaping her now messy bun and were surrounding her forehead. 

As a lock of hair passed in front of her eyes, River brushed it away with the back of her palm. The Doctor kept looking at her. Even in a disheveled apparence, River still looked beautiful.

She turned her head towards him and smiled. He smiled back. There was no tension between them, everything was serene. At this moment, it’s as if time had stopped moving, everything around them didn’t matter anymore as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

River didn’t know why the Doctor was looking at her that way, his eyes were so pure. She could see into his soul as he watched her. But she knew that whatever he would do at this moment, she would let him do it.

After a moment, the Doctor smirked and she didn’t understand why, she frowned. But suddenly, he was tickling her again and she shrieked in surprise. Trying to take control of him, River ticked him too and was delighted to find that he was, in fact, ticklish too.

A shriek escaped him as River pushed him into his back and tickled him on the stomach. He tried to push her hands away but she caught them in her own and placed them above his head.

Not having any hands left to tickle him anymore, River watched him struggle to get out her grasp, in vain. He sighed and stopped squirming.

It’s then that they realised the position they were in. River was on top of him, with her legs on each side of his waist and her hands around his wrists near his head. Their faces were inch apart and she saw the Doctor’s Adam apple bobbing as he gulped.

She released her grip on his wrists but they stayed in the same position, observing each other and searching in each other’s eyes their next move.

Slowly, the Doctor lowered his hand and came to place it on River’s waist. Looking in her eyes to see if this was okay, he saw River, her mouth slightly open as if waiting for something else. 

He tightened his grip on her waist and slowly pulled her to him. She leaned her head towards him, inch by inch, and he licked his lips. They closed their eyes at the same time, feeling their breath on each other’s mouth. They were ready for the long awaited kiss.

The Doctor opened his mouth a little in anticipation and leaned towards River.

"River, Doctor. We’ve got food!"

The sing-song voice of Amy broke them out of their little trance. They opened their eyes abruptly and River scrambled off of the Doctor. She rose from the mattress and quickly went to the half painted nightstand. The Doctor had just the time to put a pillow on his laps that Amy opened the door with a joyful face.

"We found wonderful things to eat, it’s marvellous!" Amy exclaimed. Looking at the two people in the room, she received a death glare from the Doctor who didn’t seem very happy to see her and River wasn’t meeting her eyes.

She frowned for a moment. Did she interrupt something? She shrugged, rolling her eyes. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter much.

"Well, I’m hungry, I’m eating." Rory said, taking his food from the plastic bag. He made a move for the Doctor to make room for him on the mattress. The Doctor grudgingly move with the pillow still in his laps.

The Doctor cast a glance at River and he found her already looking at him. She smiled shyly and he smiled back. At least, she didn’t regret what they were going to do when Amy interrupted them.

Slowly, she rose from her place on the floor and came to Amy to take her food, murmuring a small 'thanks'. She went to sit on the mattress next to the Doctor and their shoulders brushed. He looked at her, startled. And then, she just smiled and threw a wink at him.

He smirked.


End file.
